Humiliation of Brown's mouthy minister of war, who U-turns over 'too few helicopters' remark

Critical: Foreign Minister Lord Malloch-Brown spoke out days before leaving the Government

A minister has been forced into an astonishing U-turn by Gordon
Brown after publicly admitting that British troops in Afghanistan have
too few helicopters.

Just days before he is due to leave the Government, Foreign Office
minister Lord Malloch Brown became the first serving minister to break
ranks and state openly that British forces 'definitely don't have
enough helicopters' in Helmand Province.

It caused the Prime Minister huge embarrassment, after Mr Brown had made repeated denials of shortages.

But the No 10 political machine swung into action and the peer was
told to issue an excruciating 'clarification' - completely reversing
his position and claiming all operations were 'adequately resourced'.

The Prime Minister then claimed that the peer had 'corrected any misrepresentation' of his earlier comments.

Opposition critics called the spectacle 'pathetic', claiming the
Government appeared more worried about its own reputation than the
well-being of troops.

The row came on the day that a soldier from the 1st Battalion the
Coldstream Guards was killed by a Taliban bomb in Helmand, taking the
UK death toll to 188.

The fatality was the 19th since the start of July - matching the
previous worst figure in September 2006, which included 14 killed when
a Nimrod spyplane crashed.

Speaking out: Lord Foulkes (left) has attacked General Sir Richard Dannatt (right) for making public demands for more army helicopters

Mr Brown's insistence that troops have all the equipment they need
suffered a further blow as the former commander of UK forces in
Afghanistan Brigadier Ed Butler said they were 'insufficiently
resourced' to cope with a widespread insurgency.

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Lord Malloch Brown, a former diplomat, was appointed as a minister two years ago.

His portfolio includes overseeing Britain's military mission in Afghanistan.

Mission: British soldiers leave a helicopter in the desert of Afghanistan. Critics say a shortage is risking even more deaths in the region

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph to mark his departure from
the Government this week, he gave an outspoken assessment of the
problems facing UK forces in Helmand Province, stating: 'We definitely
don't have enough helicopters.

'When you have these modern operations and insurgent strikes, what you need, above all else, is mobility.'

He suggested the coalition would eventually have to negotiate with some Taliban elements to achieve lasting peace.

And he admitted rubbed salt into the wound by admitting that Mr Brown's political future looked 'incredibly bleak'.

Downing Street was left fuming and Lord Malloch Brown was made to rush out a humiliating 'clarification'.

He said: 'On the issue of helicopters in Afghanistan, I was making
the point - as the Prime Minister and commanders on the ground have
also done - that while there are without doubt sufficient resources
in place for current operations, we should always do what we can to
make more available on the frontline.'

At his monthly press conference the Prime Minister swept aside the
controversy over helicopters and resources in Afghanistan, insisting
troops had all they needed for Operation Panther's Claw - the latest
bloody offensive in central Helmand.

186th victim: Corporal Joseph Etchells, 22, was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in Helmand

He said the numbers of UK helicopters in Afghanistan had risen by 60 per cent in two years, with more on their way.

Challenged over Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup's claim
last week that more helicopters would 'patently' save lives, he
replied: 'More helicopters in general, yes. That is why we are putting
them, of course, into Afghanistan.

'But in the operations we are having at the moment it is completely
wrong to say that the loss of lives has been caused by the absence of
helicopters. We have the helicopters we need.'

Military insiders have dismissed the Government's boasts of increased helicopter numbers, claiming the current fleet of less than a dozen RAF Chinooks in Helmand remains far too small.

Tory defence spokesman Dr Liam Fox said: 'Lord Malloch Brown was right to make his criticism, but now we see the pathetic spectacle of him rowing back under pressure from No 10.

'The harm this Government fears most is to its own reputation, not our national interest, or that of our Armed Forces.'

Helicopter kept in UK

The RAF has held back a Chinook helicopter and its crew from Afghanistan --so it can spend the summer entertaining crowds at airshows across Britain.

The twin-rotor transport helicopter is one of the fleet which are in such short supply in Helmand Province.

The news caused astonishment yesterday, following repeated warnings from senior defence figures that more Chinooks are needed to save British lives.

The Ministry of Defence insisted that the RAF was providing all the helicopters it was being asked for in Afghanistan and that public relations remains an important priority for the Armed Forces.

Red-faced baron who fights his way... to the bar

Lord Foulkes: His name is a byword in Westminster for unthinking tribalism

As Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, former Labour MP George Foulkes sports a title as florid as his ample cheeks.

His opinions are equally colourful and frequently targeted at anyone who has the temerity to question Government policies or the activities of his friends.

His name is a byword in Westminster for unthinking tribalism and shameless sycophancy. One writer once complained: 'His toadying is becoming embarrassing even by Westminster standards.'

But his accomplishments in the military arena are rather less striking. As one MP put it yesterday: 'The only fighting George has ever been interested in is fighting his way to the bar.'

Indeed it was his taste for drink which summarily ended his only experience of the Armed Forces.

He was Labour's defence spokesman in opposition between 1992 and 1993 but was forced to resign after he admitted assault and being drunk and disorderly following a reception hosted by the Scotch Whisky Association. He spent a night in police custody and was fined £1,050.

Lord Foulkes - whose Gordon Highlander grandfather won the military medal in the First World War - became an MP in 1979 after a career in student politics and local government.

When Labour won power in 1997 he was Clare Short's deputy at the Department for International Development. After a couple of other jobs he got a peerage in 2005.

In recent months he repeatedly leapt to the defence of fellow Scot Michael Martin during the MPs' expenses scandal.

Lord Foulkes was still arguing that Mr Martin was the right man for the job just hours before he became the first Speaker forced from office in 300 years.

Lord Foulkes's own expenses included claims of £45,000 over two years for overnight subsistence to stay in a flat he had inherited.

He also acquired a reputation as one of Westminster's leading junketeers, going on record numbers of foreign freebies.

Christian soldier who politicians can't cow

General Sir Richard Dannatt has been the most outspoken Army chief of recent years.

The first 37 of his 40 years of service saw him win a reputation as a cool and accomplished safe pair of hands.

But from the moment he took over as Chief of the General Staff in 2006, he has been willing to speak publicly about the shortage of resources Labour has provided for defence.

Telling the truth about soldiers' pay, living conditions and equipment made him a popular figure with frontline troops, who affectionately dubbed him 'the Reverend' because of his profound religious beliefs.

Telling the truth: Sir Richard Dannatt (right), talks to troops at Camp Price, Gerashk, in southern Afghanistan. He has been the most outspoken Army chief in recent years

'By coming here in what is occasionally dangerous territory, it shows he is a soldier first and that he's willing to stand alongside his riflemen on the ramparts and be part of the fight,' he said.

'It's good and invigorating to see that he's not just based in an office, hiding behind the information that's given to him.'

But the General enraged ministers who claimed he had broken the convention that military chiefs should complain in private.

First he warned that the overstretched Army was 'running hot', then told the Daily Mail that UK forces in Iraq were 'exacerbating' security problems and should leave 'some time soon', adding that the Iraq mission was in danger of 'breaking' the Army.

There followed blunt warnings that British soldiers in combat were not being paid enough - less than traffic wardens, as he pointed out - and that Britain itself was not doing enough to support its troops.

The General himself had risen through the ranks after distinguished service with the Green Howards which garnered him a Military Cross in Northern Ireland at just 22.

He was seen as a strong contender to take the top job as Chief of Defence Staff, but lost out as his relationship with Labour ministers faded. He will leave the Army next month.

Forces are stretched to the limit, says MoD

Britain's armed forces are overstretched and do not have enough
money to keep operating at the current level, according to the Ministry
of Defence's annual report and accounts.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth slipped out the announcement of the damning study as MPs went on holiday.

The report reveals that the military is not 'ready to respond to
the tasks that might arise' and are failing to 'build for the future'
because of a shortage of resources.

Time out: Soldiers from Britain's Mercian Regiment are seen resting during a patrol as part of operation Pantheris Claw, in Helmand province, Afghanistan

It also found that the percentage of units suffering from critical or serious weaknesses is increasing.

The paper details a 25 per cent cut in training exercises during 2008-9, with one in seven cancelled altogether.

And it reveals that the UK has been unable to supply enough
troops to Nato's Joint Rapid Reaction Force because there are not
enough troops available for action at short notice.

The report also reveals that the Auditor General has
'qualified' the MoD's accounts for a second year over errors in
payments to military specialists, and £155million of payments on the
Bowman radio system that were not properly accounted for.

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Brown forces minister to retract parting shot on need for more helicopters in Afghanistan